| Monday, May 1
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com |
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|  | | George Karl figured his team could put some pressure on the Pacers. |
NEW YORK -- Before his Bucks started their first-round series against the
Pacers, George Karl didn't like how his frontcourt matched up against
Indiana's.
"You can say with Rik Smits and Dale Davis they have got the advantage on us
there," Karl said. "But I like what we can do on the perimeter against
them. We can make it a real series there."
The Bucks have given the Pacers all they can handle, and it's been on
the perimeter where they've made their mark. They'll need to do it again
tonight at the Bradley Center to force a Game 5 back in Indiana.
The Bucks' quickness has leveled what looked like an uneven playing
field going in, with Indiana winning 14 more games while gaining the No.
1 seed.
"The great thing about the Bucks' approach is that with all their quick
guys, and how George uses his trapping, junk defenses, that has given
the Pacers fits," said one Eastern Conference GM. "The Pacers are a lot
like Utah. If you get them out of whack offensively, and you don't let
them run their sets, then that's bad news for them. Then they really
struggle."
It's been bad news for Smits and Davis. Smits, who lost his cool by
getting tossed out of Game 2, and getting suspended for Game 3, has been
no factor. His lack of quickness and athleticism has prevented him from
getting to his favorite spots. In this series, he's been turned into a
passer. As for Davis, his lack of skills has been evident against the
traps.
"The thing the Bucks can't do is let Reggie go off again," said the GM. "How they could let him explode in Game 3 when they didn't have to worry
about guarding Smits is beyond me. But sometimes, those traps come back
to haunt a team like Milwaukee."
Rim Shots I
Don't expect a lot of tough talk and bold predictions from
the Heat as they enter another playoff showdown against the Knicks.
After two straight first-round KOs at the hands of their Atlantic
Division rivals, the Heat are the last team that can talk.
"We've learned," Pat Riley said. "We've been humbled the last two
years. I've always had a hard time with all the stuff on the side. I've
created some of it myself, to be honest with you. Every time I do create
it, then I get ______ off with myself, for getting us off the path.
We're a careful team now. We're not making predictions. Speaking loud
and making gestures and predictions and calling people out, we're not
about that anymore. We're a good team, but we're not going to go calling
that out anymore."
Although Anthony Carter outplayed Detroit's Lindsey Hunter and Miami is
21-12 with him starting, Riley's been around long enough to realize that
he'll need Tim Hardaway's leadership and experience against New York.
Hardaway was hoping to get clearance to start light jogging Monday or
Tuesday. If he is able to play Sunday, how effective can he be?
"Right now I can't tell you," he said over the weekend, "because I
haven't done anything. I'm making progress every day. But this is by
inches. Not by miles. I feel good about my progress."
The Heat's offense -- sometimes iffy in the fourth quarter of playoff
games -- is different without Hardaway. Not for the better, either.
"It changes so much for us," Riley admitted. "One of the best parts of
our game -- probably the best part of our game -- is our pick-and-roll
offense with Tim. It's changed dramatically. They always go under the
picks, go soft on (Carter), because they don't think he can shoot the
ball. A lot of our post-up offense and catch-and-shoot offense and
things we run offensively are triggered by Tim. It's half our offense.
It's not as effective without him."
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Rim Shots II
Indy assistant Rick Carlisle is apparently a done deal to
take over for Larry Bird, according to several GMs. The Pacers are
saying nada. When Carlisle was approached indirectly about the Clippers'
job, he said he was going to hold off and see what happened in Indy
before doing anything. Carlisle is credited with working with the
Pacers' young players, including Jonathan Bender and Al Harrington.
You can cross Mike Fratello's name off the Clippers' list. Fratello is
looking for $6 million per. Clips owner Donald Sterling will never pay a
coach that much. Dennis Johnson and Kurt Rambis are seen as the leaders
for the post.
Word in Detroit has Joe Dumars taking over for Detroit
VP Rick Sund on personnel matters. There's only one personnel matter of
any significance now in Detroit, after yet another first-round KO --
Grant Hill's future. Hill has told intimates he'd love to play in New
York and is hopeful a sign-and-trade can be worked out with the Knicks.
But Detroit doesn't want to help New York and isn't keen on working a
sign-and-trade. They'd much rather take his entire cap money and go
after Jalen Rose. But at this juncture, the Pistons are keeping their
fingers crossed that they can convince Hill to re-sign for another
season, taking less than the $9-mil he can get. Then they could take
Bison Dele's money and bring in a free agent or two to try to become
more competitive. Since joining Detroit, Hill's teams have averaged only
41 wins in non-lockout seasons. "Grant should stay, if he wants,"
Christian Laettner said. Jeez, Christian, that's the best lobbying job
you can do?
Ohio State's Michael Redd is entering the draft, thinking he
can be a top 10 pick. But some scouts think Redd is making a mistake.
They've got him slotted going anywhere from 20 to 30.
The Heat's
sweep of Detroit was Riley's first since coaching the Lakers. In LA,
incidentally, he was 18-0 in first-round games.
In the short time his
Raptors were in the playoffs, Butch Carter went from suing an opposing
player to alienating his own players. All indications are that Tracy
McGrady will leave for Orlando, with Chicago having an outside shot.
"You just saw the best of the Raptors," one scout said after Toronto
was swept out by the Knicks.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
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